Finding a career you love and having someone compensate you for it is a difficult task. Finding a career that blends well with your homelife is even more difficult.
Maslow's Need Theory says that there are 5 different sets of needs that we have. Physiological needs, security needs, love, esteem and self actualization.
For us to provide for our family we need to fulfill the basic physiological needs such as food, water and sleep. Security means finding a secure environment without financial means to provide for our family we won't survive. I think that there is a fine balance of finding a job that you like and that pays you and doing what you love and not being able to survive.
Work Life harmony can be a grind but make the best of it, find your motivation and you will find a perfect balance.

A parable is designed to show us an enlightened path, but is not to be taken literally. The Mexican Fisherman's Parable is about contentment with having enough and remembering what's important. It isn't telling everyone to quit their jobs and become bums. It isn't telling everyone to eschew money and ambition (though they are both potently dangerous without the correct perspective) to both the individual and the planet.

Career success to me is finding that one thing that is your passion, and then finding someone to pay you for it. Right now I am a submariner in the United States Navy, and to me, it's a job. My chief does the same job essentially with some more responsibility, but to him, it's a career. The man made chief(E-7) in seven years, and more then likely will stay in the Navy for thirty years. When we are at sea, he barely sleeps. He lives in the radio room(we are radiomen). When we are not at sea he is always the first to the office, and the last to leave. He has found his career. That is what I am looking for. I want to find that job, that later in my life, they will have to force me to retire, because I do not do it willingly.

Staying in control of my career destiny and having time for my wife and daughter is a hard task to complete. Being in the Navy I am away from my family at least 6 months out of the year. When I'm home, I pick up college courses and I'm close to finishing up my bachelors degree. I also need to help my wife out with raising our daughter, and taking care of our home. It's a hard life, but us sailors learn how to make the most of the little amount of time that we have with our families. We also know how to have that balance. Work-Life Harmony can be a grind, but in my opinion, it is what you make it.

I enjoyed reading the entire blog and of course all of the comments that followed. For the past year, my job title has been "full-time student." I decided to take a year off to finish my Bachelors in Psychology and I am excited to say that in August I will have reached my goal. The reason I mentioned my education was to reference back to the comments. I have been searching for work for a little over six months and I understand, of course, that an education is important. Fulfilling one's life goals and ambitions is definitely good for an individual but I can definitely relate to the fisherman because I have worked at several jobs that I was satisfied with, both financially and with my work relationships. My schedule also allowed me time with my family and I probably would have been satisfied working there until retirement but after the birth of my daughter, for whatever reason, I knew I was definitely capable of much more and wanted to be just like the American that had the MBA from Harvard. I do believe that one is capable of having work-life harmony and I would like to believe that most of us sacrifice the time away from our families for the end result of being able to be around them more often in the near future. Well at least that is my plan and I say near future because I would not like to work now and play later like the American mentioned and wait 20 to 25 years to share moments with my family and friends. I also liked how you defined what you meant between harmony and balance. Your blog was definitely easy to follow and understand. I definitely look forward to picking up a copy of your book!

Im just wondering if the parable of the mexican fisherman comes from the bible?

Life might be too short to stay in a job I hate, but it's also too short to blow my savings and gamble with my stability by quitting. You make it sound like it's just so easy to get a better or more fulfilling job or to "take control" of your career. Guess that might be true if you went to law/med school or have an MBA or PhD or are a computer expert of some type.

I appreciate you taking on the Mexican fisherman fallacy; the businessman's millions offer him far more stability and life opportunities than the fisherman's day-to-day existence -- what happens when the fisherman is too old to fish? But I think you've replaced one fallacy with another: the fallacy that it's possible for Joe Schmo to balance "career success" with personal fulfillment. Joe Schmo is looking at a situation, especially in this economy, where "career success" means "a good job where I'd better show up every day and do what my bosses tell me", not one where he has a lot of opportunity to "take control" of his "career destiny." For Joe, the personal fulfillment will have to wait until he clocks out for the day, otherwise he loses his house and car and endangers his family.

I think there is this fallacy that when we speak of work life balance that we have to be in balance all the time. I see my career and family commitments as more of a pendulum, where I swing back and forth between the two. When I am at work, I cannot be a super Mom. When I work from home, my focus has to on work or on my children, otherwise I am not good to anyone. The key for me is in knowing when to swing back to one side from the other. But balanced - I never feel balanced. Still, I have a very satisfying career and a very happy family life.